This invention relates to a carrier patch for the delivery of agents to the skin, a method of producing the carrier patch and a method for the use of the carrier patch. In particular, the invention is concerned with a carrier patch having an agent to be delivered to the skin, a method of applying the agent to the patch in a manner which is minimally deleterious to the agent, and a method of delivering agents to the skin using such a carrier patch.
Delivery of agents to the skin for local skin treatment may be desirable to improve the health and appearance of the skin. Skin conditions such as dry or oily skin, blemishes, abrasions, cuts or rashes, for example, require localized skin treatment to remedy the affected area and to prevent further skin damage. If skin conditions are not treated, further skin irritation may occur resulting in infections or damage to the skin. Thus, treatment of skin conditions improves the health and appearance of the skin.
Further, the skin may provide an ideal system for the delivery of agents to be active systemically. Although the skin is thought to provide the body with a protective covering, a number of agents are absorbable through the skin, and since the skin is a highly vascularized organ, the agents also penetrate into the circulating blood supply for distribution throughout the body, ultimately reaching the targets the agent is intended to affect.
Previously described methods for using patches for the local delivery of agents to the skin or systemic delivery via the skin employ a combination of the agent to be delivered with an adhesive used both to anchor the patch to the skin and as the medium by which the agent is delivered to the skin. However, the combination of the agent with the adhesive is disadvantageous for reasons including that some agents cannot be solubilized in the adhesive, the agent and adhesive when combined can each impair the effectiveness of the other, and the agent when combined with the adhesive can be heat inactivated by the thermal, chemical or mechanical actions used to cure adhesives. Thus, the combination of agent and adhesive prior to or during adhesive preparation for many agents would require a high concentration of the agent to be used in the combination such that an effective dose would remain after adhesive treatment has been completed. For some agents this is impracticable.
It is known to form sampler devices for cosmetics, wherein the device includes one or more plys. This is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,688 (Muchin) which is incorporated by reference herein.
There is a need to provide a carrier patch for the delivery of agents to the skin which minimizes the disadvantages of known systems.